It’s in everyone’s interests that we get integration right in Britain. And there’s clearly work to do: our society is more anxious, fragmented and polarised than any of us would like. It’s a ‘State of the Nation’ challenge at national level: integration matters to all of us, not just to migrants and minorities. But getting Read more about Immigration and Integration: Getting it Right Locally[…]

Our last visit of the National Conversation on Immigration was to Bedford, a town that has welcomed waves of immigrant from Italians and Indians after the Second World War, to more recent arrivals from Eastern Europe. Today, estimates suggest that nearly 18% of the town’s population has been born overseas, with many more having recent family Read more about Bedford: Illegal immigration, Windrush, and public compassion[…]

We have recently visited Bexley where asylum was a high profile issue for our citizens’ panel, much more so than in many other locations we have visited. Our participants were sympathetic to the plight of refugees, but were concerned about the situation in Calais and the arrival of clandestine migrants in this part of London. Read more about Bexley: Talking about Calais[…]

We returned to Wales this week and visited Aberystwyth, a university town in Ceredigion, a predominantly rural local authority. Although our citizens’ panel thought that migration had brought benefits to this part of West Wales, they were also concerned about cultural change and threats to the Welsh language. “I agree with the benefits and the Read more about Aberystwyth: welcoming newcomers and preserving local culture[…]

Our last East Midlands visit was to Lincoln where our much of citizens’ panel discussion focused on language barriers. From being a non-diverse cathedral city some 25 years ago, Lincoln and its environs have seen the arrival of significant numbers of both EU migrants and international students. The pace of change has caused some tension Read more about Lincoln: Why language matters[…]